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It was an “academy,” after all – an institution of learning. After attending a class, I would be asked, “What did you learn today?”
The answer was: Nothing in particular and everything in general, all at the same time.
I was part of the first class of the Wells County Leadership Academy. (Everyone else calls it the “inaugural” class; me, I just call it the “first” class. I guess I’m a first-class guy.) We concluded our term a week ago last Wednesday, receiving a couple of certificates suitable for framing — and insights that were beyond my expectations.
Attention, businesses and organizations: If you want to invest in someone’s future, and in your institution’s future, sign someone up for the second class. (And no, this would not make them second-class people.)
You might find this hard to believe, but I do have an anti-establishment streak in me. (Hah!) One of my high school teachers called me “the disorganized organization man,” meaning that I usually want what conventional society wants but that I want to get there my own way.
This played out in college. I attended a conservative Christian school which took its in local parentis (“in the place of the parent”) responsibility seriously. Do this, do that, don’t do this, and particularly, don’t do that. It drove me nuts.
One day the dean of students said he wanted to see me in his office. He had heard that I had been quoted as saying that Lincoln Christian College owed me an education in return for the money it was receiving, nothing more. He wanted to know if that was true. I said yes, it was. He said the college had a greater obligation than that, and that I had a greater obligation to the school. We disagreed. I did not want to be told how to live my life. He said I needed an attitude adjustment.
Let’s fast-forward to today. I received my attitude adjustment, and voluntarily, to my benefit — and, I hope, to the benefit of all.
Mark Miller, the News-Banner’s editor, publisher, and all-around poobah, told me when he hired me that he wanted me to attend the Wells County Leadership Academy. I said sure. I knew nothing about the Wells County Leadership Academy, but if he wanted to send me there, I was game.
I am so very glad he sent me there.
I felt at times like a square peg in a round hole. I’m in my mid-50s, and I think I was the oldest person in the class. While the class was going on, two women became mothers and I became a grandfather, which shows the generational dynamic.
So what did we do? We learned principles for life. Those principles will translate into productivity at work, sure, but after talking with my classmates, I believe they will also translate into better personal lives and civic involvement. It was, truly, an attitude adjustment.
What stood out for me? Rivers and floods. A river is a controlled channel of water useful for navigation and irrigation. A flood also has water, but it is uncontrolled and destructive. If I’m not careful, my life becomes a disorganized flood rather than an organized river. Does this make sense to you? If it doesn’t, sign up for the class. If it does, you understand the value of the insight.
I talked with a young man on the staff of a Bluffton church. This is something you will benefit from, I told him. I realize the money — $500 for those of us in Year 1 — is not insignificant in a down economy, yet the benefits to be gained are well worth the investment.
If you need to know more, feel free to call me. Two of my co-workers, Jean Bordner and Chuck King, also participated. Ask them about it.
I thank all involved and I encourage participation in the second class, the third class, and so forth. It is so worth the time and money.
by DAVE SCHULTZ
daves@news-banner.com
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